Joe Rogan Experience #10132 — Joaquin Buckley Transcript

Transcript

0:00 The Joe Rogan Experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really like sat back and looked at it and it took some time to actually like take everything So, you know, if you want to really hear it, man, it's a long story with it And, you know, once I got, you know, started with MMA and stuff like that, the gym where I came from, it could only teach so much. from uh not just taekwondo but you know hopkido you know kushin uh sanshao you know all these

2:23 Raymond Daniels perform the two touch yeah he did that two touch yeah yeah that's probably one of the biggest And we used to make this hard pop like a shotgun, right? years later and turning side kicks big facts Yeah, yeah, yeah. know uh just like a line hard to hit you know but he made his uh his leg like a jab you know his one leg had so much dexterity.

4:29 Yeah, this is old school. Yeah, I think he is too. So this is just a year ago. with oh that was in a force of one yeah yeah uh i think he fought this guy named joe lewis yeah Once they encountered leg kicks, they got kind of fucked up Oh, Superfoot. But he fought Muay Thai guys and he used to whoop their ass. throw so many sidekicks and they're so clean they're so sharp i i assumed uh i guess i can

6:48 So she can only do so much, you know? it was just on TV you know what I mean so just looking at Bruce Lee looking at Jackie Chan uh, that was gym at Finney's MMA. And how old were you then? I was 18. I started as soon as I got out Yeah. And probably the most important thing. I never really liked sports anyway. You know what I'm saying? You know, I love like one of my favorite movies to watch is Blood and Bone, you know, with Michael John White,

9:31 pull off, how long was it before you had your first fight? So in Missouri, in St. Louis, whatever. Yeah, no heel hooks. And so did they have a comprehensive amateur program there? We were talking about the difference between going to a big gym and the way you're doing it at a smaller gym yeah and there's some over and over and over again. because that's how you actually work on your tools.

12:08 don't care nobody say like big gyms everybody's just doing their own thing everybody's just Like if you're not a world-class guy, if you're not a top of the food chain guy that has a lot of money riding on him, they'll put you in there with everybody who's in class. So a lot of guys get it twisted when they go to these big gyms and they think that they're going to be elevated because of the guys that they're around.

13:17 You got the big, nice mats. Exactly. because they ain't had nobody else to go with. Joaquin Mercy Lago. uh nick simmons so the gym itself is called Salt Academy. It's a wrestling academy. And he's more my size and stuff like that. We also got a guy that works with our jiu-jitsu who works at Magic named Brendan Berry who does all our jiu-jitsu. school around them and they knew that they could teach at least a base of fundamentals and if they

16:45 a lot of people had me pick to lose you know and thinking like okay Albert Dura is changed at this then that's what you need to mesh up with. So how do you balance out how much grappling you do versus how much striking you do? because now we got money in the bank. chose I mean I'm mixing a little bit of takedown but I let him back up I was like right I want to

19:06 I think baseball is boring. He's doing in high. He's you know I'm not mad at Izzy for what he does because that's what he keeps doing, right, Because it's kind of your division, but maybe not in the future. But you're going to have this fight with Chris Curtis? Are they opposed to you moving down to 170? Yes, sir. Like, when he's bulking, you know what I mean?

21:08 but he's actually lighter I'm a lot bigger at 185 Even the PI guys, they can tell you. I never get up to 200. Jared Kananir used to be a heavyweight. You got to fight Jared Kananir like that. What happened to the killer gorilla? Really? We can debate all day, but my thing is if I was to fight Izzy, you got to put that pressure on him like Kevin Gaston did.

23:26 Putting it in a boxing range and fighting inside, you know? There's so many little debates that you can put up behind it, There it is. Hey, you know say if you start to get knocked out then you know me you probably shouldn't be in this game He just worked on his defense. but my biggest thing is just like you can't just like barely beat a champion and be like all right

25:45 That's debatable, too. I think losing to Izzy just reignited that fire inside of him. So he got used to just beating guys and taking them to a point where he's just outpointing them, for real. at the same time, if you apply that type of pressure it's armchair quarterbacking, right? went in the same type of way, you know, in my opinion. I think he's also, I think the Izzy fight, it's just my opinion,

28:04 Remember, he got knocked down and hurt. That's controversial, right? It wouldn't make any sense to do it then. Yeah. Because like the 84, you know what I'm saying? oh, he's like one of the best defensive or best footwork. Hold on now, hold on now, hold on now. and then all of a sudden He definitely on my pound for pound. Last time he was here, Which is a problem with fighters.

30:09 Jon Jon will be going through crazy stuff. That's wild. So it was just something that he became accustomed to and a part of. John's in his 30s. he needs to stay away. Well, according to John, But I think they're targeting shows that you belong at heavyweight before you just mixed martial artist But he's training. I mean, John's like 255 jacked, he's doing it the right way.

32:29 And I know he's training hard. Who you working with? I like what Henry's doing. which I hope takes place. the top but he also won at 35 i feel like him coming back at 35 to fight aljo's a very legit He fucked over TJ Dillashaw In the second fight too about aljo right yeah yeah it's like that you you realize like the confidence is there and when you

34:49 Well, if you were walking around at 181 before you fought at 185, that seems easy for you to make 170. sense that they want to see you like cut the weight though because like you see there's so now hold on I ain't trying to be on no brandish Trust me, things just work out sometimes. All that made sense. Why would they have to cancel it? D-Rod has always fought at 170.

36:58 saying is just for it to be at Yeah. He chubbed me. So it's got all the pieces of a conspiracy. Yeah, man. There's logic behind it This motherfucker is like— But then it's like the whole switch up. at 185 yeah you know for sure so they had that fight at 180 and then tell I'm the scenes. And it turned out, like we were talking about it, it's a better card.

39:38 That makes sense. more money he had to put in to even try to get to the 170 weight class for him. You know what I'm saying? I don't know. Does a good job It's masterful I am a wild man The undefeated That guy's good Like, with, what, 16 finishes, 17 finishes? That's right, that's right. I mean, almost, if I'm not mistaken, almost died or something.

41:59 Big fact. When Jeff Neal's on, he's one of the best guys in the division. But he just keeps his head straight up. It's a hard style. But a lot of these guys I don't feel like promote themselves. But they all talented, but you don't have a lot like that. Jeff Neal don't really promote himself like that. But they all talented but you don't have I feel like the

43:39 number 11 in the world now? If I can get that fight, I'll love that fight. I'm going to knock that fool out. Yes. But when Phil Halls got comfortable and just felt like he's just flowing, But I love it stylistically with you because if your style of fighting, and the second because I was hoping and I was praying because I was, you know, Like, I was talking about, like, eating up Nassadine cuisine.

45:48 you know he did his job you know but at the end of the day when uh coach said you know saying we just different now you know i mean uh and anything up whether they size length strength like these all play a part you You know what I mean? Just chilling. You know what I mean? Because I don't think that's the case. 170, what do you see? More grapplers.

48:17 Most of the time. It's like Ben Askren versus Jorge Márcio, though. he had a fucked up hip by the time he got to the UFC. Like Andre, I forget his last name. because but I'm going to take you down I think it's the that's why when a guy wrestler Because he actually fought You know what I mean? and experience first they can get caught even though they got all the skill sets in the world

50:52 training so if it's happening in training like you got to do something about like to I don't He's trying to pull his arm off He trying. That's not the right way to take this off. What injuries did you get? But the way I fell, I ended up tearing, you know what I'm saying, my meniscus. So the base of my eye itself, it was gone, so my eye was just floating.

52:48 back underneath that foundation almost. yeah, wow. Is it easy to break? I think that was coming from the UFC had hit him up and told him that. when they do cheekbone the Sage Northcutt when he got his Sage was a bad one, here. Which one do you think is worse? That one or the Sage Northcutt? That was probably the worst ever. That was the wildest flying knee.

54:26 you know? Look at all the plates He was, Let's see it. Like, he even caught Pikachu or something. You know, I'm sorry. Yeah. designed for that shit. I've always thought, Like, they did it old school. Nah. though, Pauly Malignaggi, Like, Yeah. But do you think that it's, like, is there an argument for doing that at MMA for eliminating gloves? This is real fighting right here.

57:24 This is real fighting at its element you know i mean because they fight outside No. Wow. If you get body slammed on concrete, that is fucking bad. It's a real fight. I wouldn't wear those If you have running shoes on and you're going side Of course. There's so many different stories there. what i mean so but luckily i was able to mature over time but

1:00:12 which there's nothing wrong with training the discipline, Yeah. That's a real fight, though. You know what I'm saying? yeah big fact getting knocked out though adding stuff to it like you, you know, head button. Right. shout out to Detroit Dust if you you should actually Yeah, yeah, yeah. never, you know, I guess't had opportunities You know what I'm saying?

1:03:18 where guys will try to challenge you, you know what I mean? and that's why I say, like, it ain't scary getting into that cage. that if anything does happen, he going to stop the fight. Yeah. Because this is where I feel like I'm free, I was already I was I was already planning on moving down to 170. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't take every fight. You know what I'm saying?

1:05:25 Cause I'm not finna push that fight back And they came back with a name And I already said it before he said it. and people want to see him do well. He was like, hey, I got some good news and I got some bad news. but now it makes sense wouldn't be able I would have took the fight though because I already know My thoughts on it, Remember, this is a five round.

1:07:48 in his fights. to watch. He's in your weight class. Right. Yeah. He stood in front of him. But I feel like in my heart that Alex Pereira unfortunately doesn't have the actual ability to fight Izzy the way he needs to win. Because the Jared Kananir fight. Just showman stuff. yes where Anderson Silva and waited for guys Yes. You know? But then you see the strategic Izzy now.

1:10:59 Because Alex is so big. Yeah. I'm sure he can do it. Snipering with the arrows. Exactly. I ain't gonna lie, this was cold. Yeah, that's a recurve bow. I don't know what kind of preparation he's done in terms of getting himself lighter for a five-round fight But he's done it many, many times. where it comes to selling. I pay attention to these fighters

1:13:24 because he's a champ, you know know so besides it just being ESPN Alex Pereira you know what I mean taking away from in order to take uh take time away from his training but isn't that just what the ufc And to be honest with you, it's not that hard of a buy-in because even with Alex Pereira not being able to speak English, watch it you know but Izzy's is going about his way and like I said I don't

1:15:25 I forget what. And I feel like if Izzy goes out, like I said, emotional, he will get caught. He can be hit. You understand? Yeah. Yeah. find that fight you know hit him in kickboxing buddy right just seeing the fight that he had against dude and trust me dude was taking a lot I'm still going to bring that style. Might have, but he's still fighting the same way to me, right?

1:18:27 He got liver hooked. Yeah, of course. You know? He lost his last kickboxing fight Boy, that was nasty. Dude standing right in front. And that's Bruno Silva. Well, he fights wild. Bruno clinched with him here. Boom. But he survived against Pereira. When you get a beating like this against a guy like Pajero, you know, that's also how I feel about Francis Ngannou's first fight with Stipe.

1:20:32 Walking forward. I lost to him. But I feel like Alex Pereira would get exposed if he fought any three of those guys. Yes. I mean, shoot, Paul Acosta. They didn't cut any weight. He said 205 or something like that. Light heavyweight The day before It's wild You know? That's why I didn't mind, like, winning the main event because I feel like I could definitely

1:22:52 Right. it's just crazy just to see the development to fight the type of style that we need to see Izzy against. Yoel's a softball, too. Like, didn't he get paid? yeah something happened oh no no was one of the guys Come on, now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was so good as a kickboxer. He won his last fight. But my thing is, yo, why you think that is, though?

1:25:29 in the glory days of the heavyweight division Like, Anderson Silva, man, that broke my heart when you lost to Jake Paul, bro. was talking about was diaz though yes at first at first well the diaz fight is a big name and a big And it's sad because he's saying all these different things, and he's talking about having these real conversations that need to be had, but it's coming from him.

1:26:53 I hate it. So I'm going to fight for y'all while I'm knocking out y'all legends in the process of it. You know what I'm just a fighter because he's telling us that we're not even brave enough to fight for ourselves. So I'm going to fight for y'all while I'm knocking out y'all legends in the process of it. And he's winning. But at the same time, it's just like, bro, if you fought Anderson when he was in his prime,

1:28:06 Like, a lot of these dudes with actual real boxers Like, I had to actually work with actual boxers to realize, oh, this is a different type of game. It's so diluted because the whole perception of in May guys want to box is because of money Yeah, definitely need a timeline. Two, three years is correct. I'm going to work my way up. how many more fights do you have on your UFC contract?

1:30:28 When you get over those four fights, have you seriously considered possibly fighting him? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we working on it. I didn't even think about him, right? And just as a fan of MMA, Shavkat, right? we just don't know about him yet. Ooh, I might go to the Apex for that. No, no, no. You remember Charles. But I feel like it's just a good start for a lot of guys in the UFC.

1:32:50 You still get a little feel for it. Okay. He likes eating too much. Look at that. Is a great fight too Jiu Jitsu guy Okay. It's one of them underrated fights. He's a good fighter. This is his name. He just won recently as well. Yeah, yeah. Big fan. And then I lost, right? Because my name blew up after that. Well, I feel like it's only in MMA, brother.

1:36:07 was a couple wins well that's also most fan friendly styles emulated my style after and i just meshed my own type of style into it. Melvin, man. Jesus Christ. Melvin in his prime. Like, who else did he fight? In the first round, quick. Yeah. they are creating monsters. for a great fighter. but they were just talking you know, that he had went through,

1:38:35 through that journey you know i did risk dying i know but multiple times eight times he got arrested That right there alone On dream That's where I started. That's all I wanted to do. So he wasn't thinking about your overall career. Hell no. I only got, like, a one-fight contract deal when Bellator came to St. Louis. Uh, damn, bro, that's sad, bro.

1:40:46 Actually like referee in my fight He was like, just sign it You know, I got a KO loss against Jackie Ross, but, like, it took, like, But I was already cleared. So with me, I'm getting paid, but I'm not really making no real money. So they end up giving me pretty much four fights. you know i was like damn man i kind of just like lost out on a lot of experience you know i mean

1:43:02 I want to learn more. is what it is but I just didn't like that you know so how'd you get out of I had no network, like, you know what I'm saying, as in people to reach out to. But every gym that I found, man, was kind of whack. being a student of the actual craft and the actual sport itself. I think his name is But I used to watch him Fight tips oh muay thai rock paper scissors theory oh okay so he's one of those dudes just breaking shit man

1:45:58 For a young fighter, it's such a good time fighting element and all this other stuff and Master Wong Right here So this was like The street fighting element Full of it right My head You might be do something naughty. Exactly. to like end a fight, But regardless though. So I was just working with the guys that I was working with at Finney's. So we ended up training with each other, and like I said, once I split ways with them, I was working with him the whole time.

1:48:43 Like, you can add those fun, traditional moves in there with the fundamental basics, you know. And I was still struggling as a fighter. It still felt like it was so stretched out because I didn't see when I was gonna be able to find another fight I was taking care of my grandmother at the time, like, which that was a big deal as well. I'm sorry to hear that.

1:50:39 And once I went through that, it's funny how once I kept training and kept motivated with just my friends And this whole time I've been doing that and I just stopped chasing after the whole goal for me like he didn't want to be like a management cuz I had no manager I had I was like, is it 175 or 180? And funny enough, that's why I stayed at 185. this is 2020 now uh from LFA to fight Gregory Rodriguez I don't know if you know who that is

1:53:14 I was able to get these fights. The guy that passed away, R.I.P. Ryan Sutton, he the one that helped corner me in that fight. I didn't have no— want you to speak to the difference in the structure like once you got to this new gym and all this class level with no coaching nah I mean yeah well I did have world-class coaches because you got to And that's why I like Bruce Lee so much

1:55:42 That was very taboo. You should have your own style. Yeah, I understand. mma in terms of real sports is relatively recent yeah there's no no sport like MMA where if you go and watch the fighters from 1993 Right. But I'm just trying to think, like, good, like, people that they fight a certain type of style, Because I would say the Merchart fight, but like he only got one punch out of that,

1:57:52 Gilbert's a wild man. And, you know, You know? He's like, And also, He favors one side All day. I wasn't stunned because I knew Hans out was going to immediately try to shoot. But I know I'm a better wrestler than the majority of guys These guys are grapple heavy. So much potential to get even so much better. that she needed I had to leave the job you know and i had to work overnights at walgreens in order to make sure i check up on her throughout the day

2:01:44 So we were always like, where's grandma? short window you know and it's sad that about this disease that can even take that that can take that away Because that's what you need in order to defeat something like this. I mean, it just had to be that way. right ain't that hard you know what i'm saying like we good we can get through it you know so And if I wasn't with her, I was with my godmother, you know?

2:04:52 So, like, the people I used to always see or hang out around I was never, like, what's the word? Just out of nowhere in my eyes, you know, and it took a minute for me to just like accept the fact that she was gone, you know, and I won't even say get over it. Because I ain't trying to bounce into too much stuff. So eventually my grandmother ended up asking

2:06:49 Wow. I'll just leave. my dad was like, and that's where we had comes from I thought I was somebody special so when i got into it with my dad whatever and He grabbed my hip like this, picks me up, boom, slams me. You know, I never met him. I ended up losing him as well. like I should have, you know, That's hard. That's so hard. No, big fact, man. Did I was like, because I ain't been to call this man daddy or nothing, you know? That's hard.

2:09:13 That's weird enough as it is, right? So, like I said, once, but that's the crazy part then. actually be in the same household Like, we moved the same, Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it really showed me, and this is what I'm trying to get to, you know, and I ain't trying to, like, put all this shit together. pretty young you know saying almost getting to the age of 40. you know um um no no what's she

2:11:33 So many people are dealing with so much. I mean, it is a major factor in what forms a man's personality. and print it somehow, some way, The first time you die And that was my real pursuit for real, for real, doing like MMA and chasing my dream. Yeah, only 28. Mm-hmm. over well you know fight guys like imamov who's like what is his natural weight i mean what is

2:14:31 structured training and the fact that you really do have relatively little in comparison the amount You know what I mean? trust me i think you did learn from that fight and what you're talking about with that third early, period. to fight the way you fight. out like a little history lesson right talking about uh akana uh in that war you know saying

2:17:17 Right, tell you about it, right? right you can't just go through a workout I'm just get this done like you point blank period and conditioning. Tuesday, Mace. But then also Friday we hit a heavy heavy lift is jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, slash Muay Thai, and try to form us into the best fighter that we are, you know, I still do the same thing that I've been doing for the longest time,

2:20:37 But, you know, like I said, from Michigan State, undefeated. me it is perfect you know but at the same Yes, sir. We hit the sauna. and stuff like that, that's what I think it's great for. we check the temperature and that thing begin to 32 you know and we in michigan too so oh boy that But don't do the, like, bucket of ice and stuff like that. Don't do it every day.

2:23:37 Oh, yeah. the craziest things that I'm doing but I'm doing the same thing consistently So I feel like a lot of fighters, if they put more on the line and they go out and actually try to take a little bit more risk, They're still training. It's interesting, like, those calculations. they just want to touch like man I don't really want to hurt you know it's a dude so we just

2:26:02 Because if you spar too much, you leave too much in the gym. Well, how many times did i tell you i spar in a week one time one time one time that's Because I said I wanted to fight at 170 you asked me like who some names But listen, man, I'm a big fan. And this 100, man. You already know, man. Solid Foundation Just merch Alright brother